Felix Hernandez extension with Mariners now official

Just a few hours after Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said he was hoping to have news of a Felix Hernandez extension “sooner than later” the team has made the deal official.

Terms of the contract were not announced, but reports from the Associated Press and CBS indicate it’s a seven-year deal worth $175 million. Hernandez will sign the contract at a news conference at Safeco Field Wednesday afternoon.

The contract will make Hernandez the highest-paid pitcher in baseball. Hernandez is a three-time All-Star and 2010 American League Cy Young Award winner.

The Associated Press reports there had been speculation about an injury to Hernandez’s pitching elbow that could be slowing the negotiations. Zduriencik said earlier in the day that a deal of that magnitude in years and dollars, “takes time to work things out.”